1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device, and a method of manufacturing the LCD device. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device capable of enhancing afterimages and reliability, and a method of manufacturing the LCD device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device, a voltage is applied to an electric field generating electrode to provide the liquid crystal layer with an electric field, and arrangement of liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal layer is controlled in response to the electric field, thereby displaying images.
The LCD device may be operated with a super vertical alignment (“S-VA”) mode. According to the S-VA technology, liquid crystal molecules and ultraviolet (“UV”)-curable particles are injected between first and second substrates, and the UV-curable particles are cured to pretilt the liquid crystal molecules under conditions in which a data voltage of a white gray scale is applied between the first and second substrates.
Polarized ultraviolet light is irradiated to photocrosslinkable copolymer including a mesogenic group having liquid crystal properties, the mesogenic group being referred as a reactive mesogen (“RM”), to induce anisotropy to the photocrosslinkable copolymer, and heat is applied to the photocrosslinkable copolymer to enhance the anisotropy of an alignment layer, to thereby align liquid crystal molecules.
However, the RM injected between first and second substrates may not be easily cured at a surface of the alignment layer, and the RM may remain in the liquid crystal layer. The RM remaining in the liquid crystal layer may be cured by light from a backlight of the LCD device, and cured amounts of the RM differ depending on location. Thus, pretilt angles of liquid crystal molecules may not be uniform. As a result, afterimages may appear on a display screen.